Did Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards blow a great opportunity to make lemonade out of lemon, at least, as it relates to the Karen Carter Peterson  "repeal the second amendment" tweet that has become a controversy locally and nationally?

Jim Brown, commentator and former Statewide elected official and state Senator says yes, he did.

 We have teachers leaving their classes, protesting low pay and inadequate financial support for schools; Kids are taking off from class in droves, making sure their once muted voices are being heard on matters such as gun-control and weapons in schools. Once again, the state budget is a total mess and the voters are up in arms.

Whoa!!

Does Karen Carter Peterson, the Chairperson of the Louisiana Democratic Party support repealing the second amendment?

Rob Maness seems to think so and points to the evidence. A tweet by Peterson, that states "Repeal the Second Amendment" which includes the very controversial op-ed in the New York Times, earlier this week by no less, than former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, who advocated that it should be repealed.

There were several gatherings at the state capitol in Baton Rouge last week.  Former legislators gathered for their annual reunion to catch up on old friendships and reminisce about past legislative accomplishments.  And the few living delegates from the 1973 Louisiana Constitutional Convention were honored for their service as talk of a new convention was being debated in the capitol halls.  One theme ran through both gatherings. Why aren’t problems being solved?  Why so little cooperation?  Where is the vision?

Once again, special interests win at the expense of Louisiana taxpayers and its most vulnerable citizens. These greedy hogs yesterday defeated in committee SB 357 by Republican state Sen. Conrad Appel, which today caused Republican state Rep. Tony Bacala to set aside his HB 334. Both bills would put the state on course to creating a long-term managed care system for persons with disabilities. This change in philosophy discomfits nursing home interests, who benefit greatly from current state practice that biases placement of individuals in nursing homes instead of in their own homes or the community. While waiting lists for access to this care, called waiver programs, has steadily risen to 28,000 people, Louisiana nursing homes enjoy a gravy train at their expense.

Today, Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards responded to the decision by Attorney General Jeff Landry not to open the Alton Sterling investigation. The governor noted that the Louisiana Department of Justice followed the process as outlined by law but also backed an administrative review to determine any disciplinary action to be undertaken. 

Can the Louisiana Republicans finally get major cuts to the budget as the fiscal hawks have demanded for years? How much of a budget hole is there? Why did the Louisiana legislative fiscal session, called last month to fill an almost one-billion dollar hole, fail without anything to show for its efforts? Did Governor John Bel Edwards have a firm plan?  Can we really blame the Republicans for its lack of unity as the Governor has done with the special session fizzle or were the Democrats just as divided?